What about using bearing retainer compound? I had a similar problem on a different frame with the bearing race in the rear upper triangle that was machined too deep which allowed the bearing to move in the race. The bolt head was flat and tightening was limited because it contacted the link and not the bearing. Adding washers and bolt length would not solve the issue. I used Loctite 603 to fix the bearing in the race and it seemed to fix the issue although I did not use the frame much after that.

Did you put the loctite on the inner race and bolt or on the outer race and the carbon frame?

I don't know if it fits, but Cube brand bikes has some models with a derailleur hanger that looks the same. I don't know if it will definitely work or how hard it is to find, but would at least be something to search for. Also, the threaded part should come with the hanger and be part of a set that sandwiches part of the frame in the middle and has a screw that holds everything in place.

Yeah that is what I found as well.  Ended up ordering for bike inn UK as nobody over here carries Cube pieces.  This bike is starting to be a money pit, and with the pivot issue I am starting to lose hope it will work out and be a scalable solution for my customers. It is a shame because it is pretty dam close to be a great bike.

JJJ, thanks for doing that! I have a post that I've been trying to describe it all and started on drawings last night, and you have done it all so I don't have to! And it looks a lot better than what I have so far.

I think the pictures probably really help others see what is going on.

On my frame, if I pulled on the seat stay there was very obvious movement so I made a washer to fill the gap under the bolt head and the carbon of the frame. This reduced the play but I didn't stop to look at the design and what was actually happening. Since the bolt is holding the bearing tight to the linkage, when the frame moved over the bearing was sliding in and out of the frame. The washer just limits the movement but between the bearing moving in the frame and the bolt rubbing on the frame or washer if installed, things are going to start falling apart pretty quickly.

I also haven't looked at the lower link as it isn't as easy to get to. But the bearings are in the linkage so hopefully it will be better. I might as well pull it apart because I still can't get the shifting very good, I'm assuming because the derailleur hanger is out of Sram specs, and have only ridden the bike around the yard. I'm surprised others aren't having issues with poor shifting. While I am picky about shifting, it's not even good enough to go out of the yard and a second issue that needs addressing IMO. After seeing what's going on at the linkage I don't expect to be riding this any time soon or ever if there isn't some kind of fix.

Mine is shifting perfectly with Shimano 12 speed and a 51 cassette. This may just be your setup which I would say is a good thing as you just need to work it out.  The frame play...well that is definitely a bigger issue.

It is worth showing the link assembly issues with pictures rather than just words to get the message better across, so I've drawn some (not to scale, dimensions exaggerated, showing the principles).

This is the 831 assembly of the upper link to one of the rear triangle eyelets, as far as I could make it out. Grey is the aluminum link, black the carbon triangle, blue the ball bearing and pink the screw. The screw presses the inner race of the bearing against the link, so the screw and inner race are one piece with the link. There is some clearance between the screw head and the triangle so that the parts can rotate with respect to each other.

JJJ thanks for sharing. This definitely helps everyone who has not studied this linkage for hours understand the issue happening inside this pivot. I am not convinced however that it is only the linkage at fault. I believe this is part of the issue (and likely easier to correct) than the 2nd issue which I believe is the triangle being flexy on its own. If anyone has evidence to support that the triangle is appropriately stiff because they jammed enough nylon into the pivot that it stopped flexing all together (within what we know is acceptable based on other bikes) please prove me wrong. I have inserted the outer bushings by making a custom set of nylon spacers. It seems to be helping some. I also inserted some smaller “janky” inserts race but It was binding the whole pivot from moving freely which was unacceptable. Perhaps if some perfectly toleranced metal inserts where made it would work, but to JJJ points the engineering is faulty.

Why didn’t they just replicate the SC pivot?  I rode with a friend yesterday that had a hightower and studied it pretty closely. The bike is very similar with the major difference being how they handled this set of bearings and pivot. Why they decided to reinvent the wheel on this is beyond me. Seems like they should have stuck with both sets of bearings in the pivot. They did so for the top bearings in the link, but decided to do their own thing for the lowers. Can only assume it was related to production efficiency or something similar.

Can anyone tell me where these parts are used on the bike?  My frame came disassembled from Eddy because it was raw and needed paint, so not sure what these bits are for?

Thanks,
Luke

Frame showed up Saturday way ahead of schedule. Under 3 weeks to NJ!
finalizing paint decisions and will get to work shortly.